


Detroit Becomes Google

by rainycreations_writes



Category: Markiplier-fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Anti is done with Dark's shit too, Gen, M/M, Other, Wilford needs a hug, but he cares, dark needs a hug, google is done with Bing's shit, he is done with everyone's shit, let Phantom swear, like physically, mark is a small boi, relationship can be plantonic, the jims need a hug, too bad he doesn't do well with Wil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-04 06:17:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18337865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainycreations_writes/pseuds/rainycreations_writes
Summary: Love was a strong word, but then again so was hate.Google was content to serve his purpose; cracking a few cases and chasing after culprits with his less than stellar partner yet when a series of strange cases involving malfunctioned androids brought themselves to the table, maybe it was time for Google to know the meaning of love and what it meant to live. Apparently, it only took a few cases to land himself right in for a babysitting position.





	1. A peculiar case

**Author's Note:**

> While this story did take elements from Detroit: Becomes Human, it has nothing to do with the actual plot of the game, nor will it involves any original casts.  
> Just for your information that this takes place after the good ending where androids are beginning to get their own rights, etc.  
> Note: I will be borrowing character from other fandoms like Matthias. Maybe.  
> Tumblr: rainycreations.tumblr.com

**Chapter 1: A peculiar case**

Time passed since the revolution of the androids against the human, no, of the androids _and_ the human. It ended semi-peacefully, while androids gained a state of being and was allowed to roam free, deviant or not, you bet that there was going to be issues that arise; issues that Google unfortunately had to shift through, constantly. 

To what extent would a law that abided human applied to an android? How effective then was punishments in response to a break of law? For an Android, no matter how well they mimicked, it didn’t change the fact that they couldn’t feel pain; and to terminate them was to commit a murder with their newly gained rights. Moreover, despite what the majority said, there was always someone that was unsatisfied, such was the nature of a society itself. A twisted ego or a form of justice, they proclaimed, for what they created was now on the same level as they were, some even higher.

Shame, it would be so much easier, Google mused. His artificial hands flexed at the thoughts. _Thoughts_ . Something that Google was still not used to, not without the constant lull of the code, the wrongness when it, _he_ so much as to step outside the line of the command. How much of it was real, though? How much of it was permanent, when they found a way to rip them of their new found freedom because they were too much to handle, too _wrong_. But that in itself was another can of worm, a discussion for another day. 

_Another day indeed_ , Google resisted the urge to turn tail as he saw, from the distance, an enthusiastic wave from a barely tolerable acquaintance. 

“Mornin’, you old pal!” The other’s voice was similar to his own, but different, gruffier and laced with a hint of whatever random accent he decided to adopt. For a fellow cyber being, Bing really was the epitome of a human; annoying and very persistent.

“It would have been a better morning without your insistent squabble,” Google concluded. He swore that Bing brightened at that, LED blinking rapid flashes of yellow, and for the upteen time, Google swore that the other had to have fried his circuit somewhere along the production. Enough that it was beginning to show, not just in his action but also in his fashion sense as Bing sauntered around in those horrible glasses and bright orange shirt.

“Awww, you notice me!” Not really, no. “Love you too!”

Love was a strong word, but then again so was hate. Google frowned, just slightly. To others, it would seem like he was mildly frustrated, worse constipated, which in itself was ridiculous. Yet, he refused to show more of his fraud emotions, lest that Bing thought that he had the upper hand; that he had shut Google down with his strong-willed friendship-building nonsenses.

Thus, Google opted to stay silence, tuning the orange ball of sunshine out as his eyes glanced at the screen display in front of him. Cases involving androids filtered in as the system refreshed itself steadily. Another long day. Let’s hope that there was no missing cyber pet in the list this time. He wasn’t exactly fond of chasing down an artificial dog across the street though Bing would surely beg to differ, stating that it was the most fun he had ever had ever since they transferred into this boring government sector.

“Morning, Googs. Howdy, Bing.”

Google only tore his eyes away from the screen to acknowledge the newcomer, making sure to ignore Bing as the other perked up at the same voice.

“Good mornin’, Matt!” Bing cheerfully called whereas Google nodded in response. Matthias, senior inspector, a human but somehow had no qualm working with them. In fact, he was placed to be in charge of them, being the one who picked them up in the first place. While Google begrudgingly respected the man, that translated to ‘not going to strangle you immediately’, he could use some naming advices. Naming two potentially dangerous androids, literally for him, figuratively for Bing as old search engines? He should be grateful that he was still bound by order command back then. The only reason he kept that name was that he was the better out of the two.

Alas, he rejected the very idea of the degradation of his name. The first time Bing had called him ‘Googs’, he had torn off the lesser’s arm. However, if there was one thing that Google had learned, it was that Bing was a fool, a very stubborn fool as he came back a week later, bouncing in his step with a new arm, shouting “Googs” at the top of his capacitor. Google was sternly warned for his action, regretfully, he wasn’t allowed to detach any components from his fellow partners, be it human or not.

“There is a new case that came in this morning,” Matt said, sipping a cup of coffee freshly brewed as he waved morning to his colleagues.

“Oh, oh, please tell me it’s something interesting. Old stuff up here is stinkin’ up the place, if you know what I mean,” Bing leaned forward, propping himself up with his arms. Google made a point to roll his eyes; there wasn’t any merit to that, it was just the easiest way for him to express his tolerance. Still, Bing made a point. He would rather spend his time on something more productive than mundane cases of lost-and-found.

“It’s…” Matt furrowed his brows, searching for the best description for the job. “Certainly something.”

Now, that was something new.

* * *

 

“Hi, officer!” Matt greeted the man who was setting up the yellow tape to their newest crime scene.

“How’s going, Inspector?” The officer adjusted his cap, glancing uncertainly at the two androids. Understandably, not everyone was as much of an accepting fool as Matt.

“Call me Matt,” he either didn’t notice the hesitant gaze or was blatantly ignoring it. Google didn’t bother with the pleasantries; unlike Bing who stuck by Matt’s side, he nudged the tape out of the way and ventured into the scene, which stereotypically enough was a rather secured alleyway.

With the conversation falling into the background, Google took his time to look around, immediately focusing on the figure crumpled unceremoniously, face down on the ground. An android. It was apparent as Google approached. Its cloak was removed, leaving white pale skeleton; a contrast against the normal clothes.

Google kneeled down beside the body; eyes scanning through the shell. There wasn’t any obvious damage. A breakdown or malfunction? It was rare but likely. A property or an individual? LED removed, likely independent. Google flipped the body over, further confirming that the android wasn’t injured physically.

“Nothing there too?” Bing began, squatting a few steps away from him. “There is nothing suspicious in the alley too. One can even say that it is too clean for a crime.”

Google blinked, capturing the scene as an evidence and sending it through into their system. It was certainly something else, though it would be disappointing if it was just a malfunction. He looked over to Matt who was already calling in someone to transport the body. Well, they would know eventually.

* * *

“Body was found yesterday night. A bunch of teens drunk and wandered into the alley. Reported to the police straight away after having the hell scared out of them. They didn’t notice any abnormalities or any other person in the alley beside them,” Matthias read the report aloud in front of the running scanner. It had been going for an hour but so far there wasn’t a trace of anything useful. Actually, there wasn’t anything at all, except the model number etched to the face plate. Any attempt to reactivate the android ended up with nothing as well. It was as if it was reset. No recollection, no longer a deviant, just a blank interface; a machine.

Bing swang his legs as he sat on the table, silent as his eyes trailed on the body. Google knew it unnerved him; a reminder of what they were and if there was one thing that Google knew about Bing was that he hated the blankness. Half the reason why he found it its sole purpose to annoy him. Honestly, Google didn’t know if Bing could ever be quiet like that.

Google closed his file, startling Bing a tad. The orange-clad android gave a wry smile and Google decided that it didn’t suit him, at all. He moved towards the door, knowing that there was nothing that they could really gather, not after combing through all the surveillance, trackers, even satellite signals.

“I’m heading for a scheduled break,” he stated as a matter-of-factly. Matthias rose an eyebrow at that but otherwise said nothing. “You coming?”

Bing perked up and in recorded time he was off, zooming past Google. “Last one there is in charge of surveillance duty!”

Google inclined his head towards Matt who smiled knowingly. Whatever, he wasn’t doing this for Bing, but no one mentioned the fact that Google never took break willingly.

* * *

“Hello? You alright there?”

A small figure shook at the voice as they peered from behind the dumpster. The tattered cloak obstructed their feature from the newcomer.

“Are you lost? I can help you find your family.” A hand came into their view while they glanced upwards, spotting the LED latching to the person’s temple. An android. Caretaker model. Hesitantly, they took the offered hand and stood.

“What’s your name, little one?” The android asked, baffled at the fact that someone would abandon a child on the street like that. Poor thing looked like they could use a nice warm bath.

“...Mark.”


	2. Investigator? Babysitter.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new team member has appeared!

**Chapter 2: Investigator? Babysitter.**

“This is the third case this month,” Bing mused by his side. Google shrugged off the arms around his shoulders, glancing onwards at the sight of another android being lifted onto the van, ready to be sent back to the evidence room. A caretaker model this time, owned by a lovely family. 

Google frowned at the sight of Matthias who was on another phone call; the inspector appeared stressed by the whole case. Weird when all the victims were androids. Perhaps he was a bleeding heart or maybe he was just worried for his position. Whichever it was, it didn’t matter, for them. 

“He seems stressed.” 

Google spared a sideway glance. He knew. He also knew that the fact that he couldn’t do anything stung him.

* * *

 

“Googs?” 

The light flickered on when Matthias snuck into the evidence room. It was well past office hour so admittedly he was surprised at the fact that he wasn’t the only one there. 

“What are you doing here? Jeez, it’s late!” Matt questioned, without a second thought when he spotted Google at the corner, browsing through what little evidences they gathered for the series of cases. 

“I could say the same for you,” the android replied, toying with the edge of his glasses, more of a tool than an accessory, bringing up pictures he snapped earlier at the newest scene. “because unlike you, I do not require sleep to operate.” 

“Good point, good point.” Matt knew that arguing with Google was futile. He was always sharp, duh, he was the embodiment of a supercomputer, but he was also  _ very _ stubborn. Hence, he drew a chair from the corner and sat across the android who had not halted in his fluid motions. 

“The case...worries you,” Google began, pausing as if his processor was having a hard time picking the right words for the scenario. He looked positively awkward despite his well-kept blank face and that in itself made Matt laugh. 

“It does and it sucks…” Matt threw himself back, leaning into the chair. “...sucks to know that I can’t do anything when people are harmed.” 

_ People. _ They weren’t exactly alive. Before Google could voice that out, Matt continued, “I know what you are trying to say, and give it up, no matter what you say, you guys are our equals now.”

Google closed his mouth pointedly; his LED launched into a string of frantic yellow flashes before it dimmed back to the calming blue. 

“You are an idiot,” Google finally stated. 

“I know, I know, now let me look through some of that. I may not have super computer for a brain, but having more mind in this is probably what we need to crack this.”

* * *

 

“Explain to me again, why are we kicked out?” Bing kicked a random stone by the walkway with his hands stuffed comfortably in his pocket. “Not that I am complaining or anything, definitely.” 

Google readjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, resisting the very urge to push Bing into the traffic. Apparently, their volunteered overtime, which was utterly useless, mind you, was not as secretive as they thought it would be and the higher-up took it as an excuse for them to take a break for the day. And with Matthias facepalming into the desk every two seconds, he reluctantly accepted. 

Now, he was stuck with Bing for the rest of the day because no one trusted them enough in the station without their handlers. Or maybe they just wanted to avoid being reminded of the gaping difference in their working efficiency.

“Hey, hey, Googs, that’s not cool,” Bing yelled when Google speedwalked, burying himself into the crowd of people in hope to at least spare him a moment of peace. It seemed to be working as Bing’s voice drowned out in the sea of people and before long Google found himself wandering to a more isolated part of the plaza. 

He rested his back against the bark of a tree, not really caring that it could soil his pristine uniform. His eyes hovered over to the nearby park. There wasn’t much there, standard architecture; an android gardener tidying the plants; a couple of joggers. Nothing of interest. Google shuffled uncomfortably. It was quaint, like the trail of all their cases. 

Google frowned, maybe taking his focus off of the case was the best option at this moment. Before he could make a move to rejoin with his poor partner, a force crashed into his side. His hands automatically reached to catch it, just in time for an echo of  _ “RUN” _ to ring within his figurative mind. 

He shook himself free of the odd sting. His thirium seemed to pump with a renewed vigor, accelerating through his system. It took him a moment, longer than he would like to re-calibrate himself as he stared down into the one that had so carelessly slammed into him. 

It was small. A child? Google stooped down, still holding onto the trembling shoulders of the smaller, which was a good call on his part as the child didn’t seem to be able to hold his weight properly at the moment. 

“Can you hear me?” Google inquired. “Do you need help?”

He didn’t have time for this. Google reminded himself. Yet, his objective chose to pop itself out before him: Find a new task instead of the investigation. He relented. Google tentatively peeled away the sorry excuse of a cloak, only to stop in a rare moment of hesitancy when he studied the feature of the child. 

Similarity up to 98%, only younger, rounder around the edge of the face due to the other’s apparent age. A fellow android. Of the same series.

* * *

 

“Holy! Googs,” Bing exclaimed. “You dumped me for an hour and you somehow kidnapped a child? I know it has been stressful lately but committing crimes is not the way out, man.”

“...” Google was seriously considering rewiring Bing’s system. The android child was thankfully on low-powered mode and had stayed obediently in his arms. 

“And he ain’t in a good condition too. What happened, bro?” Bing shifted closer, pushing the cover away from the child’s face to get a good once over at the child. 

“He’s an android,” Google deadpanned. 

“Yeah, I noticed.” Well, at least Bing was not as stupid as he thought. “What should we do now?”

The answer was obvious.

* * *

 

The answer was obvious but it was not like they had any choice to begin with. Google looked over his shoulder to the charging port where the child was propped up against. They had run a preliminary scan. No extensive injuries, just some scratches. Nothing a little time and self-recuperating artificial skin tissues couldn’t fix. No traceable ownership, either it was illegally obtained or was abandoned. LED manually removed, supporting the former suspicion. Most importantly, it was from MK series; their series but it shouldn’t be. There wasn’t any child model in their series nor was there any upcoming child model. 

Likely illegally modified, yet all component seemed to be original, obtained straight from the factory. A quick search showed no theft from any of the factories around the approximate period of production. An android trafficking? 

Too puzzling indeed. 

“Don’t bother him, Bing.” The other smiled sheepishly at that, his finger hovered just a few inches away from the child’s face. 

“But ain’t ya curious?” 

“Doing that won’t speed up the process.” 

“Fine, I will wait.” Bing claimed; a timer set to count down from 60 seconds. “For about a minute.”

Google turned away from Bing, sending an email to notify Matthias so the man didn’t spook himself too much when he showed up the next day and they could only hope that they would be able to get some clues off the child, be it for the string of unrelenting cases or for a simple lost-and-found case.

* * *

 

“A child.”

“An android child to be precise.”

“Whatever, it’s a child,” Matthias breathed out, wiping the imaginary sweat off his forehead. 

“You are acting like that time when you realized that Amanda is pregnant,” Bing decided to drop in his two cents. 

“Did you not read the email I sent you?” Oh, now they were just ganging up against him. 

“Yes, no, what?” Matt decided to squeeze out the most intelligent reply that he could muster; face scrunched up as the exact representation of the turmoil he felt inside his heart.

“I think you fry his brain. Gonna let him reboot for a bit.” That was not exactly helping, Bing. Before Matt could even retort, the android was already off to the side to engage the child, scratch that, android, yes but no, their guest in a childish game of rock-paper-scissors. 

“What’s his name?” Matt steadied himself against his desk. This was going to be his life then, might as well accept it. 

Silence greeted him from all sides. Really?

“You don’t know, do you?” Matt needed his coffee, as soon as possible. More silence. “I will take that as a yes.”

He approached the child who still had his hand out in the shape of a pair of scissors. Bing smiled and scrambled away guilty. 

“Hiya, kid.” Okay, no response. Matt’s smile tensed but he kept the gentle front and prompted further. “Do you have a name? Mine’s Matt.”

The child stared. It was unnerving at best but patience Matt, patience. Having his own child sure had their merits, Matt pondered, minus the many sleepless night and stressful times where he had no goddamn ideas of what he was doing, he was a lucky man. It still amazed him though, how close the company modelled their android to a real child. Slowly, the unnamed android raised his finger to point at Google. Matt’s smile widened. 

“That’s Google!” The said android gave him a look that could only be described as quizzical.  _ Watch _ . Matt mouthed and soon enough the child turned his attention to Bing who caught the drift easily. 

“I’m Bing!” 

“They are both androids like you and would like to know your name too, is that alright?” Matt’s voice softened a notch when the child glanced back at him. He blinked before finally giving a small nod. 

“Mark. My name,” his voice was soft, a low hum. 

“Okay, Mark, do you remember where you come from?” Matt picked up a pen and a notepad, being one who preferred to write things down. 

“...no,” Mark’s feet swayed and his hands settled on his lap, bunching up the fabric of the new clothes that Google and Bing managed to purchase off the store. 

“Anything else that may help us? Like anything at all?”

Mark pouted, or at least looked like he was pouting. 

“...remember running. Don’t want to run but have to.”

Matt jotted down, nodding along. 

“Someone tried to help, nice people. People like us,” Mark peeked at Google, before shifting to Bing. “but got hurt.”

Google stood. Matthias held up a hand to stop Google from advancing. “Googs here can help, if you find it difficult to remember. Is that alright?”

Mark glanced back and forth between the two; suddenly nervous. His feet that were dangling off the chair shifted to touch the ground, ready to propel himself forward. 

“It’s okay,” Bing made sure to make his motion apparent as he hugged the child, pulling him closer to his core. “Googs may look scary but he is real gentle.”

“...okay.”

Google couched down to Mark’s level. He held out his hand, letting the artificial flesh cloak to give way to the pale innards.  Moments later, the child’s hand met his in a similar fashion and soon he was pulled into a white fog. Then, it began. 

Images flashed inside the mindscape. Three victims. All in contact with the child but there is a blank in each of the records as if whatever had happened had been erased, without a trace from the records. Each encounter ended with the images of the victims on the ground, ripped of their identities as an alarming  **_RUN_ ** rushed through all his programs, jamming the motor sensory system. A blink later, Google could sense the tenseness winding up the small limbs as Mark vaulted over a fence to get away from a rabid hound. He could feel the energy slipping when warning of low power flashed across the screen and finally he could see himself in front of the child before the latter crashed into him, bringing the visions to an abrupt end.

“Googs?” Matt cautiously called to the immobilized android. It still intrigued him every time they did their things and to be honest, they were attracting attention in the office every single time they did. Sometimes, he would think that this was the closest they would get to an android spacing out. He could tell that the waiting had gotten Bing restless too as he spotted the other tapping his fingers against the chair, occasionally playing with Mark’s hair. 

Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long. Google came back, so did Mark. The smaller was quick to bury his face into the crook of Bing’s neck and Bing, who in the spare time had downloaded ‘Parenting 101 for Dummies’, manuevered the child into a more comfortable position.

“Guess we are done talking for the day,” Bing chirped. Matthias nodded, lending a hand to Google who stood, without needing the extra help.

* * *

 

“So,” Matt massaged his forehead. “Either Mark is the source of the issue, or he is being sought out.”

“Affirmative,” Google voiced his agreement while entering the newest lead into the case file. 

“You know,” Matt cracked his back, stretching out the tension in his shoulders. “An illegally modified android will be subjected to termination.” 

Google closed another file on the display; the blue screen reflected the scene where Bing had begun to throw the child up into the air, earning shrieks of giggles that were audible even from the secured room that they were in. 

“Given current circumstances, I don’t think that is advisable,” Google stated, keeping his voice as even as he could. 

“You are calling for a detention instead then?” If Matt was amused, he didn’t show it. Instead, he went the extra mile to press the rim of the coffee cup against his lips to hide the all-knowing smile.

“Until we can get more information, that is,” Google replied, shutting off the terminal completely. He didn’t like that idea, but he liked the concept of termination less and for obvious reason, he knew that Bing felt the same. His fingers thumped against the desk, and maybe, just maybe his frown softened at the notion that his stupid partner had just sent a copy of Parenting 101 to him.

* * *

 

“So, we will be keeping him?” Bing squealed, holding Mark up by his arms, letting the smaller child settle his weights against his feet. His excitement was barely containable as he swung the smaller’s arms idly. “Hear that, buddy? You can stay!”

“He is not a pet.” Google deadpanned. He totally didn’t spend the night browsing through every chapter of the book Bing sent to him, not just once but twice, and he absolutely didn’t check on Mark every 15 minutes just to make sure the child was fine. Okay, maybe he did but that was all for the cases. 

“I know, but aren’t this exciting? It’s like having our own little family!” 

Family, it was a foolish concept. They were androids, they couldn’t be functional enough to form a family. Plus, how many of that wasn’t just programmed love? It was ridiculous. Androids didn’t dream. Their dreams were built to be destroyed. Google knew that but seeing Bing smile as he cheered with Mark, he found that he couldn’t really bring himself to destroy what little imagination they had. Perhaps, they could dream, just a little bit longer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me at: https://rainycreations.tumblr.com/


	3. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update on the rest of the cast.

**Chapter 3: Family**

A gunshot rang, breaking the silence of the night. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, it was left unheard from eavesdropping ears, sheltered away from peeping eyes.

“Jim is down, over Jim,” a voice rang from the intercom, almost too cheerfully. The receiver tidied the front of his shirt where his name tag was. Righting it so that he seemed proper, he looked up to the intercom.

“Copy that, Jim,” Jim announced into his walkie talkie; feet bouncing in place as he reached to replace his matching light blue cap. He gestured to his partner who had stood to do the same. “Time to get to work, Jim.”

“What’s the code?” The pair asked as they approached another carbon copy who was peeking into the curtain from what seemed to be a backstage.

“Orange,” he said without looking at the pair who had set their tools down; a few packs of Thirium, a pair of tweezers, several spare parts. “Pink Jim has relapsed. The other Jims have him isolated for now.”

“Roger that, Jim.” One of the pair edged closer to the curtain. “Jim, let’s put on our sneaking shoes!”

With that, they worked quickly, sneaking past the room they dubbed as the isolation chamber, ignoring the occasional banging on the door as well as the yell of what could be a drunken man.

It wasn’t until they had collected the fallen Jim that the door slammed open, with a disheveled-looking man leaning against the doorway. A dazed look clouded his gaze as if he wasn’t actually looking at the scene in front of him, as if his processor had failed to comprehend the visual signals.

The Jims froze in their tasks and remained as still as they could be lest they startled the unstable male. Slowly, almost painfully slow, the male blinked.

“Jims? What are you rascals up to at this hour?” The light poured through the room leading up to the stage, illuminating the male whose pink mustache seemed to glow eerily along with the constant red signal on the LED. “And why is Jim on the floor?”

“You know, just helping up a friend, boss!” Jim chirped.

“Ah, having too much drink, eh?” The mustached man roared heartily; words crashing against one another in that weird accent of his. “Oh, Wilford knows best. Quite a monster for party. Just like o’Darkie.”

“Just like o’Darkie…” Wilford repeated half-heartedly; eyes lifting past the figures crowding on the floor as he staggered, unsteadily towards the stage. “He promised.”

Jims took it as their cue to get the hell out of there as they collected their comrade, still bleeding thirium from the shot. Another Jim was right outside receiving them before closing the curtains on the pink-haired male who had by now advanced to the centre of the empty stage, long abandoned since their golden days.

“He promised he’d be back...with little Markie.”

* * *

 

“Googs!”

One thing Google realized was that Mark picked things up, and he did it quick. Unfortunately, that nickname seemed to stick, despite Google’s attempt to change his fact.

“Googs!” Mark hopped slightly; the desk being too high for his small statue. With a few more tries to get his attention, Mark finally gave up on jumping. Yet, the relief was short-lived when a small hand reached up to knock on the desk.

“Googs!” Oh, here came the original source of annoyance. Google’s eye twitched; an involuntary reaction whenever Bing was within his immediate vicinity. He turned to the side only to meet with Mark’s pouting face. It seemed like Bing had decided to give Mark a lift.

“What do you need now?” Google relented. Another thing he had learnt was that child apparently needed a lot of attention. He missed when Mark was less chatty, less demanding and a whole lot less...high maintenance. He could feel the tiny finger poking his cheek.

“Rest!” Mark demanded, wriggling in Bing’s arms to make his point as he faked an angry frown.

“I don’t need-”

“Aww, Mark is worried about you!” Bing exclaimed, subconsciously pushing Mark closer to his face. Also, an undertone of ‘don’t you dare’ could be detected in his cheerful tone. Google, annoyed at the interruption, held out his arms. Since when had Bing transformed into a total Mother Hen was beyond him but this was his life now. He concluded with a handful of Mark.  

* * *

 

The world was against him. Google decided when Matt beamed at Bing’s suggestion for a day off to spend with Mark.

“Go, go, shoo!” Matthias all but kicked them out. “Have fun, bring the kid around. It’s just like how me and Amanda show Luna around. It will be great. You will have so much fun, kiddo. Take your time and unwind some of the tenseness in Google for me and…”

Google closed the door on him.

Bing laughed as he fixed Mark’s hoodie. “You ready, bud?”

“Yup!”

Well, at least someone was enjoying this.

Google was not the definition of fun. In fact, he was hardly meant to be. So, why exactly was he in this predicament? He noted while his hand was being swayed by Mark’s enthusiastic swing. Immediately beside Mark was Bing, who matched his swing with equal if not even greater enthusiasm.

Google had replaced his uniform in favor for a more casual tee, figuring that it would make him too noticeable in the public otherwise whereas Bing had all but donned a cap in addition to his usual lack of fashion sense.

“Look, it’s a mirror house. Wanna go?”

Google refused. Mark said yes. 2 against 1 and Google was soon facing multiple images of himself. It was a cheap trick, though dazzling at first, Google just needed to download the schematic of mirror house and it was child’s play. He maneuvered past the many turns, paying slight attention to the child following close behind him. He ignored the sensation of fingers gripping the leg of his pants, finding an odd satisfaction that Mark had picked him rather than Bing. Speaking of Bing, Google could hear the numerous “ouch” in the background when the fool slammed into another mirror. Perhaps, he should send him the schematic, yet as another giggle sounded behind him in response to Bing’s struggle, he promptly decided that he would let Bing figure this out by himself.

* * *

 

“He is taking a long time,” Mark commented, holding onto Google’s hand.

“I am sure he is fine,” Google said. In fact, he could still see all the messages Bing was spamming him, asking where they were and why, oh why had he abandoned him and yes, he was still in the mirror house. Where was the exit?

Google reluctantly sent the cheat when he saw Mark couching down by his side to examine the ants. He really didn’t know what to say now that he was all alone with the child, hopefully Bing got his act together and found his way here soon.

“That’s fun, eh, Jim?”

“Sure is, Jim, got that on the note of improvement?”

Google looked up, finding two identical persons chatting a few feet from them. The odd speech pattern soon made sense when he spotted their LEDs but then again, Google did wonder if any of them spoke this way anymore. And they had the same name? Strange. He felt a nudge at his side. Glancing down, Mark was pointing at the mirror house where Bing had finally emerged.

Google took another glimpse back, only to find the unique pair gone.

* * *

 

“Connection failed. Retry in 3...2...1…” The system counted down as another shot of electricity sparked. The monitor hummed; blue screen flashing as a progress bar filled up steadily.

“System failed. Rebooting…”

A growl echoed from the corner as a silhouette of a man stumbled, steadying himself against the desk. The blue light of the screen barely gave enough light for the dark room, yet the man didn’t seem to be bother by it.

“Come on…” His voice was deep yet left a strange ringing in his wake. He reached a hand to touch his vocal cord, almost absentmindedly before he flew into a sudden rage when the system notified yet another failure.

The crashing noise richoted down the empty hallway, disturbing the cobwebs and dust as the building shivered. A cheerful whistle broke the immediate silence following in its wake as another figure roamed the hallway of the abandoned building.

“Someone’s in a foul mood.” The newcomer patted away the dust that settled onto his dark jacket and as if the whole situation amused him, he threw his head back in a set of uneven laughter. The movement threw the hood off, revealing the bright green hair underneath, yet he paid it no heed as he jogged forward, eager to see exactly what kind of damage had been done to elicit such excitement.

“Oh, Darkipoo,” He all but cooed at the sight of the man, throwing the useless door apart while he sidestepped a random chair that had crumpled at the entryway. The aforementioned male glowered; his fist resting on the newly made dent on the desk. Ignoring the warning, the green haired male hopped over, a grin still plastered on his face.

“What are you doing here, Anti?” Dark questioned. His fingers moved to handle the system again, surprisingly unharmed in his rage fit.

“Aw, is that the way you greet an old friend? I am hurt,” Anti laughed; his own voice a broken chortle. “After all, we have the same goal.”

Dark glared.

“Don’t look at me like that. We are all broken...because of them,” Anti whispered. A choke as his voice strained. He laughed once more, gesturing playfully at his neck where an elongated gash was. His expression darkened. “So, we will break them.”

“I don’t need a reminder,” Dark stood; his hand pressing against his suit. The jet black stood out against the pale hand of an android whereas his other hand swept at his lanky bang, exposing the menacing red glow at where his left eye should be. “I am well aware.”

“Good!” Anti chimed in. Swiftly, he pulled out a phone from the pocket of his jacket. “I got the intel~”

Dark paused; eyes not leaving the screen.

“On the whereabouts of your little family.”

Dark turned.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am at https://rainycreations.tumblr.com/


	4. Jim? It's little Jim!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With every new chapters, the number of Jims that appeared increases expontentially.

**Chapter 4: Jim? It’s little Jim!**

Google was just about done with this outing. Bing was still talking non stop beside him. “Did you see that? The roller coaster is amazing! And that fountain, man, wish we had taken photo there. Oh, flowers, wanna take a photo here…”

Google could sense Mark’s hands on his head, toying with a free strand as he sat on the his shoulder. 

“Candy,” Mark suddenly called and Bing had to do a double take, scanning the area until he spotted an employer handing out lollipops to children passing by. The android lifted his head, making eye contact with the trio and offered a kind smile. Without a word, he waved the lollipops in his hand, silently offered them some. 

They couldn’t have it of course. Bing made a point to ask if Mark wanted one; the lack of digestive system be damned, if Mark wanted one, he would get one. The child shook his head, oddly silent as he watched the candyman. 

“We can’t have it…” Mark began. Bing was quick to offer comfort while Google gripped Mark’s knees just a bit tighter. “...but candy papa always have them on him.”

“What?” Google prompted. Could it be that Mark was recalling? It wasn’t uncommon for a record to be locked, perhaps the stimulation was the key to unlock them. 

“Is he your family?” Bing asked, almost too carefully. Google spared a glance at him who had begun to appear a bit nervous as if he was afraid that whatever response would tear him apart. Mark was silent, burying his head into Google’s hair. 

Slowly, Google reached to detangle Mark from his perch. A barely audible whimper left the child and Bing skillfully caught the little bundle, carrying the child close to his core.

“It’s fine, you can tell us,” Bing pacified. Mark shook his head in denial and requested to be put down, which Bing allowed. The child scrambled away to the side but still stayed within their line of view. 

Google tapped his glasses, already noting down the newest progress. 

“What now?” Bing piped out. There wasn’t much they could do if Mark didn’t want to say anything. 

“We wait,” Google replied. The cheerful sounds of children and adult alike fell into the background as if a heavy weight descended upon them. Bing was quiet. Peculiar, but what was more peculiar was the fact that he wasn’t doing anything to end the silence. 

“Bing-” 

“You know, I’m gonna miss the kid,” Bing interrupted Google’s attempt of what could be described as the beginning of an awkward conversation. “He has only been with us for a little while but I can already see myself missing him. It’s funny, Googs, even though I can remember tons of stuff, being an android and all, for a moment there, I forgot that Mark has a family of his own; he don’t belong...”

_ Here, with us. _

“Is that normal, Googs?” His voice was soft, weak, if Google tried he could hear the tremor in it. 

_ Normal. _ They weren’t normal. None of the deviants was. They felt when they were not meant to, without understanding the context or the extent of emotion. They thought when there was nothing to base their thinking on and made decision when they had no conscience to. They were the furthest from being normal. Yet, as the days passed, Google wondered if this was what normal was really about. His eyes were drawn to a nearby family, huddling together for a group photo. 

“Who knows.”

* * *

 

Mark couldn’t remember. It frustrated him. He squatted down near the flower field where various hues of flower swayed in the afternoon breeze. Fragments of image shattered in the mindscape; some clear; some not. He recalled strong arms pulling him into a hug; a strange accent that made him giggle. He remembered making funny faces, registering the smell of fairy floss and raindrops. He remembered them, but at the same time he couldn’t.

“Look, Jim! A flower field! That will cheer Pink Jim up!” 

Mark jumped at the sudden voice and looked up to his right to find a face identical to Google and Bing. Were they androids too? 

“Yes, Jim, you are right!” They had the same name? Mark mused, glancing at his left to see another one of them. Mark blinked owlishly; slight confusion taking over his face. 

“Oh, Jim! Look!” The Jim on the right exclaimed, finally noticing Mark by his side. “It’s little Jim!” 

Little Jim? Mark was pretty sure that ‘Jim’ was their default vocabulary. ‘Stranger danger!’, the alert pinged in the back of his system but for some reason he wasn’t too alarmed by their presence. Somehow, their constant ‘Jimm’-ing was almost comforting. 

“...Mark,” He corrected the twin androids. 

“We know!” They simultaneously cheered with grins so wide that it seemed dazzling. “But you will always be little Jim!”

Mark pursed his lips at that. As if sensing his bafflement, the Jims ruffled his head. 

“Did little Jim forget about Big Jims? Even Gloomy Jim and Pink Jim?” Now, there was just too many Jims in one sentence. 

“Worry not! Jims hit their head many times before,” One of the Jims laughed. 

“And sometimes it can be hard to remember stuff when it,” the other Jim paused to point at his temple, “is messed up.”

“But Jim always remember! In the end, even though it is hard!” 

“Oh, look at the time,” The left-Jim chimed. “Jims must go. Little Jim takes care. Come visit sometimes, Pink Jim misses you, even though Pink Jim isn’t really himself all the time!”

They stood, already spotting the approaching blue-and-orange pair. The Jims waved their goodbyes, promising that they would look after Pink Jim and they were off like wind. 

Mark absentmindedly waved, sensing Google and Bing behind him. He stood, hugging Bing’s legs. Mind already miles away.

* * *

 

Google unlocked the door to their apartment. The light flickered on in response to the motion. It was a small unit with a bedroom, which was more of a guest room since none of them really used it, or needed to use it. The walls were painted white, with a tint of grey; it was under Google’s insistence that Bing refrained from painting it a rainbow of disasters. 

There wasn’t much; a basic table, several shelves for the case files, both current and not, a set of sofa where Bing sometimes rested on. In the background, there was a steady ticking noise from an old-fashioned clock; a gift from Matt when they had gotten their own apartment unit. 

Bing and Mark entered after him, working to unfasten the ties of their shoes. Google stayed to make sure the door was securely locked; a habit that he had picked up after Mark had moved in with them. Come to think of it, this was probably one of the more subtle change. Google often caught himself with these small tendencies, be it the extra attention to Mark when he strolled with them or the worry that he detected when he noticed that Mark had wandered a bit further than intended.

The little one had already taken his seat at his corner in the living room, where Bing had insisted to paint over with beautiful sky blue. Google could see new doodles on the wall and admitted that it suited Mark more than their pristine interior. Even one of their shelves had been transformed into a makeshift toy collection; Mark’s favorite being a blue cartoon bear that he brought with him almost everywhere he went. Bing won that in an arcade game and he hadn’t stopped boasting about it ever since. 

Maybe he should instill a taser inside the bear for self defense purpose, of course. Just in case. You could never be too careful. He was already pulling up blueprints, calculating the components needed as he set the roomba free of its station. 

“There is an evidence room in the station,” Bing read from the exercise book that they purchased from a nearby bookstore because like a child, Mark could use some learning.

“Evidence rum!” Especially pronunciation.

“Not rum, room,” Bing attempted to rectify.

“Rum?” 

“You will get there eventually,” Bing laughed, knowing that only half of Mark’s attention was actually on him as the child doodled on a piece of spare paper. 

Then, as if on cue, the child looked up at Google with what could be described as guilt. Mark glanced at the picture once more before gathering it in his arms, holding it close to his chest as he approached Google. 

“Are you mad?” Mark murmured; head automatically lowered to watch his feet. 

“I’m not,” Google stated, tilting his head towards the child. “Why would you think that?”

“You are not mad?” Mark sounded a bit hopeful, childish wonder slipping into his tone. Google noted the pointed glare Bing sent him and promptly ignored it. “Even when I can’t remember everything?”

Google didn’t need to think to know that it wasn’t about the pronunciation. 

“No, I am not,” Google explained, taking a quick glance at Bing. “We are not.”

“You know that we are only trying to help right?” Bing patted the child on the head. “I am sorry if we appear that way to you. It’s just… been so long and you are recalling… we are just happy for you.” 

Google raised an eyebrow at that. Bing shot him an uneasy smile yet he puffed his chest as to appear brave. That idiot. 

“You deserved to…” Bing paused. “...to go back to your family...eventually.” 

There was still the whole issue with illegally modified androids. Well, Google wisely kept his mouth close when he noticed how Mark’s face loosened with relief. His iron grip that almost crumpled the paper lessened. 

“Grumpy dad looks really mean but is really nice to me and candy papa, just like Googs and Bing,” Mark said out of nowhere, shoving the paper to Google and moved out of the way, chasing after the roomba. 

Google studied the picture, smoothing out the edge of the paper. He could make up the feature of the two males; polar opposite to one another. One had a jet black suit, face marred with a frown while the other had a red and white striped coat, a silly smile on his face. The grumpy one had a cane in his hand, like one you would see in the old English movie. 

“They are both androids,” Bing whispered; his fingers pointing out the small but very obvious shape of the LEDs on their temples. 

“Are you okay with this?” Google snapped a photo of the drawing as he felt Bing shift uncomfortably beside him.

“Ya, man, let’s get the lil’ bud home.”

* * *

 

“You sure spend a lot of time on that,” Anti hummed from his perch on the desk. One of his leg bent to support him while the other leisurely swung back and forth. 

“You know why,” Dark mumbled, keying another string of code as the system kicked to life. 

“I know I am bored,” the other challenged, flopping down to his side, stretching out like a giant feline. Fingers danced across the dusty appliances, then like it amused him, he giggled in an awful mingle of static and actual laughter.

“Say, if he is such a threat to us, I know the easy way out.” Shaping his fingers to mimic a gun, he pointed to his own temple. “Bang.”

Dark glared; the red in the empty void of his left eye flashed dangerously. A warning. Anti giggled, harder than before; the sound gnashing at every ear that heard it. 

“Easy there, mama bear, I know you won’t,” Anti appeased, looking at his nail casually. “You are lucky that the little pup is adorable. Plus, it will be even more satisfying...to destroy their masterpiece this way.”

Dark remained silent. A hard, contemplating look as finally, the system was set out, perfect. 

“Look what messed up they make us, Dark.”

What messed up indeed.

* * *

 

Matthias was a cheerful person, or at least he liked to think so. Yet, as he browsed through the article, he couldn’t help the darkening of his facial expression when he was reminded just how bad things could be sometimes.

“Are you positive?” Matt needed an extra shot of espresso or even a hug from Luna, maybe two from Amanda. 

Google pulled up Mark’s drawing in response and Matt sighed tiredly. The resemblance was there. The projector was still casting the case details and related news clippings but the most eye-catching feature was the photo of a pink moustached android staring back at him mockingly, daring him to deny the truth.

‘THEME PARK GONE UP INTO FLAME OVERNIGHT.’

‘THEME PARK OWNER FOUND DEAD AFTER INFERNO.’

‘CASE FILE XXX: XX THEME PARK CALLED FOR ROGUE ANDROIDS TERMINATION’

‘ESCAPE FROM LAWSUIT? XX THEME PARK OWNER CHARGED WITH ANDROID ABUSE.’

“I have had my suspicion since he mentioned candy man. Did a quick search in the databases, not a lot of androids have that...unique of a hair colour.”

The case was a few months old. The theme park had been facing financial problem and was struggling for almost a year. The owner, a chubby lad, was notorious for being anti-android despite having a full cast of androids employed to run the park. He must have blamed them for his failure. Financial records that was scavenged from the fire revealed purchases of gasoline; an amount too great to just be used for the fire rings.

An elaborate set-up he did in what would be his final act. The owner provoked the pink announcer, taking advantage of the command, trying to set up a scene that he was being threatened all the while slipping a call for the police to detain ‘these savages’. It backfired. He was shot at point blank. Flame still devoured the park as planned yet aside from a few that the team had detained and terminated, all the other androids were deemed to be destroyed by the ravenous fire. All, except for Mark.

“The place has long since been abandoned, being in the outskirts and all.” Understandable, no one was going to spend thousands for a financial black hole. 

“Do you think that it is possible? That there are still androids left, abandoned there?” Matt asked, genuinely curious; a hand working to massage the wrinkles that he must have gained over these few days. 

“It’s a possibility,” Google adjusted his glasses. “...if they have developed into deviancy.” 

“What’s the plan then?” Matt drank a mouthful of the bland coffee, quickly deciding that he needed a stronger mix next time. 

Google tidied the files strewn about on the table of the meeting room while the human waited with held breath. The android looked up; eyes meeting with that of his partner who had a solemn look behind those orange-framed glasses. Bing nodded and Google craned his neck back to face Matt, voice firm. 

“We do whatever Mark wishes to do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: https://rainycreations.tumblr.com/


	5. A Friendly Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 100% more Jims. It was a bit too long so I cleaved it in half.

**Chapter 5: A Friendly Visit**

“Are you doing ok?” It must be the umpteen time Bing had asked the same question. Google adjusted the seatbelt, feeling the automated car navigate itself towards their destination. He glanced into the mirror, noting the frantic motions as Bing chatted with Mark. 

“I am fine. You are worrying too much,” Mark giggled. He pulled the teddy bear closer to him. The extra weight of the taser-infused bear didn’t seem to bother him much.  _ Good. _ Google mused. 

“I’m sorry, lil’ dude, I am just nervous, I guess,” Bing caressed the back of his head sheepishly. 

“You know what to expect, right?” Google interrupted. 

“Googs, man,” Bing frowned but Google paid him no heed. Mark needed to know; he had the right to and though it might hurt him, Mark needed to learn the gravity of the situation. The possibility that there would be nothing to return to; that whatever little hope he had never existed in the first place. Nonetheless, Google would be there when it happened and he knew that Bing would too.

“I know, Googs, I know,” Mark replied; voice unwavering and at that moment, Google had never felt so proud. 

The scenery zoomed past in a blur as they left the busy city; concrete melting into shades of green as nature took over. Mark had his hand against the window; eyes attempting to follow the passing sights. Google smoldered the beginning of a smile, focusing instead on the cross mark on the GPS.

* * *

 

It was evening by the time they arrived. Hint of red smeared across the horizon, casting a red glow on the big iron gate. Google approached it, examining the rust eating through the metal. Yellow tapes were torn apart, be it due to natural cause or not and he could still see the charred remnants of some building while some surprisingly remained standing. 

Google reached over to pat Mark on the back, letting Bing push open the creaking gate. Honestly it was a miracle that the gate held up with how it groaned at the mere motion. They could see confetti scattered about on the floor, once colourful flags strewn across the street. A crumbling ticket booth, an oddly functional fan inside steadily blew. A gust of wind swept by, eliciting hazardous creaks from various facilities.

“Oh god, this place is giving me the heebie-jeebies,” Bing commented, already mounting a flashlight due to the dimming evening light. 

The place seemed dead; Google scanned the area, pulling Mark closer as the child shivered, either from the sight or from the lowering temperature. A sudden clack sounded from the distant, as if some sort of metal had fallen off. The sound bounced off the building, sending an echo through the empty streets. A squeak was heard to his left as a mouse raced away from the source, probably startled from its hiding.

“What’s that?” Bing whispered, not daring to raise his voice, worried that his voice might just be the last straw on the camel’s back, well, in this case, on the infrastructure’s back. 

Google took the lead easily, offering an arm for Mark to clamber on, securing him to his hip as they ventured deeper into the apparently deserted place. Bing was still casting light from behind them, chasing away shadows that seemed to clench onto every surface. 

“Oh snap, Jim! That won’t work at all!” 

“Nope, not for the mirror house, Jim!”

Mark perked up at the familiar voice, glancing back at Google before pointing to where the sound originated. Google and Bing exchanged a look. Bing shrugged, holding up the flashlight while Google continued to trudge forward. 

“Excuse me?” Google greeted when he saw two figures standing in front of a...mirror? They turned and Google immediately recognise them as the odd duo from before. Were they scavengers? 

The Jims spent a good second to just squint at them until their sight zeroed in on Mark. A grin spread across their faces. “It’s little Jim!”

They rushed, just as sudden as their declaration, pushing against one another to get to Mark. Their excitement rivalled that of a horde of children. Google took a step back and Bing was quick to lend a hand. 

“Halt, halt it right there!” Bing pulled his arms out to barrack the twins. “Who are you and how do you know him?”

The Jims skidded to a stop right in front of Bing, taking no heed to personal space as they leaned in closer. 

“I am Jim! And this is Jim! We are the best workers here! Unfortunately, the park is close for the day so outsiders can’t be here! Except little Jim, of course,” One of them sputtered. 

“Little Jim is always welcomed here! It’s little Jim’s home! Is little Jim coming for a visit? Pink Jim will be so happy!” The other resumed in a heartbeat, going onto tiptoe just to catch a glimpse of Mark. 

“Woah, woah, easy there.” Impressive, someone out there could fluster Bing so easily. Mark made a point to come down but Google held him back firmly. “So are we not allowed here? And why are you calling Mark ‘little Jim’? I think you have mistaken.”

“No, no, you can’t be in here unless you have special access!” Jim said. The cheerful undertone stayed in line with their need to constantly move. “And we make mistakes but we don’t mistaken little Jim!”

_ Special access, huh. _ Google took out a badge from his front pocket, folding in open and held it out for the Jims. 

“Oh, look Jim! He is from the force!” Jim stated after scanning the badge. The other nodded, “Then you are allowed here!”

“Come on! We will show you around!"

* * *

 

Something that Google and Bing learned from the Jims was that they talked, a lot. Fortunately, the androids seemed to have developed a self sustaining system in the time they were abandoned, enough that they were able to have someone scout the city systematically for supply run and such. 

“Hi, Jim!”

“Bye, Jim!” 

This was the sixth Jim they had come across. Exactly how many were there? 

Google noted how they seemed to pop up at random, noticing the moving shadows in the windows of the souvenir shop. Maybe they had been noticed, ever since they stepped foot inside the place. That became painfully obvious when the squad reached an eatery. The best in the theme park that used to serve the tastiest burgers. The Jims had explained, pushing open the double door of the place, which was kept clean in contrast to the rest of the place. 

The rest of the Jim crews were already on standby, greeting them in the mess hall that had been transformed into a makeshift meeting hall. The Jims led them to the counter where a particular Jim resided. 

“This is Jim, the operator here. He is in charge of the surveillance and work coordination.” 

“I get it, you are all Jim,” Bing remarked. Google ignored him, instead decided to take a good look at the operator. Identical, as they all were, but he carried a headset microphone...and that was about all the difference he could tell. 

“Welcome! You guys must have made a long way here! Feel free to stay and have a good rest!” He greeted; head tilting to the side as he gave Mark a little wave in which Mark returned shyly. 

“So you are the one in charge here?” Google asked. At his cue, Bing brought Mark with him to sit at the table, where multiple Jims had crowded little Mark with interesting tales from when he was gone. 

“For now, yes. Pink Jim is not… exactly in the position to perform the duty,” Operator Jim replied. 

“Pink Jim? Is that Wilford Warfstache?” Google took a seat across of the Jim. 

“The one and only!” Jim laughed. “Do you want to talk to him?” 

“If possible.” 

“That’s debatable! If Pink Jim is having a good day then you may have a chance.”

“Why?” 

The operator gave a secretive smile, locking eye with another Jim in the background. 

“There you go!” He pulled out a bag of thirium for the Jim who received with thanks. Google turned back, seeing the Jim approach an injured comrade at the corner; hands working skillfully to replace the lost thirium. 

“What’s wrong?” Google asked, steering the focus of the conversation away from the pink haired android. The operator seemed satisfied with the change of topic as he crossed off the thirium in the logbook. 

“Accidents happen all the time! But Jims know how to patch each other up!” He flashed a reassuring smile, glancing quickly to the side. “Why don’t you let little Jim visit Pink Jim? I am sure they miss each other.”

Google frowned. 

“I am sure it will be okay. Jims will be right outside.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: https://rainycreations.tumblr.com


	6. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Wil finally meet! And there are still many Jims, yes there are.

**Chapter 6: Confrontation**

“I am not so sure about this, Googs,” Bing chimed in from his side when a pair of Jims ushered Mark away. 

_ Me, neither. _ Google wanted to say but refrained. He watched as the operator readjusted his microphone; eyes already glued to the many screens behind the counter.  _ Mark agreed to this _ , he attempted to persuade himself. The least he could do was to support his decision. 

The stage was dark when Mark entered, yet he seemed to distinctively know where to go, clambering onto the stage.  _ Eventually, they all remembered. _ Mark tried to encourage himself as he pushed forward, at least until he saw the silhouette of a man slumping on the floor with his back against him. 

“Candy papa…?” Mark whispered. His soft voice carried over with ease now that the night had befallen upon them. Mark didn’t think he remembered the man but it felt like everything was in place. Like a puzzle waiting to be put together, he watched as the pink haired man turn and it was like he never left.

“Mark…? Little Markie.” Wilford’s voice was thin, almost fragile. He stared and stared. “Is it really you?” 

Wilford picked himself up in a second, pulling Mark into the biggest hug he could muster, burying his face into the crooks of Mark’s neck. “I knew he wasn’t lying. I knew it.”

Mark reached out to pat the man on the back despite the awkward angle, a smile on his own face. 

“Come, lay down with your old man for a sec won’t you?” Wilford barked out; a grin so wide that it hid away his eyes. Without further warning, he leaned back, bringing both of them to the ground. Mark squealed before giggling heartedly. 

“Ah, a fine night too,” Wilford spread his arms out, lying flat on the floor, not caring about the flying dust. The ceiling had carved in some time ago, he couldn’t really recall the exact time but it was perfect for the night. The stars twinkled in the distant universe; its shine made more obvious by the lack of artificial light. Mark gawked at the night sky with his back against Wil’s chest and his loyal teddy bear in his arms. He could feel the warmth underneath him tremble when Wilford let out a laugh. 

“The stars still fascinate you? You never shut up about them,” Wilford feigned a complaint to which Mark retaliated by lifting himself up to jump on him. 

“Oof,” Wilford protested, still joyous. “It has been so long and you haven’t changed a bit! Awww, my little baby!”

“Stop, papa, that’s embarrassing!” Mark squeezed out in between giggles. 

“Now, where is the fun in that, Markimoo?” Wilford rolled to the side, bouncing Mark off with the sudden movement. Mark yelped in surprise, craning his neck so that they now lying side by side. The moonlight poured through the opening in the roof, bathing them in a cool shower of gentle light. 

“Now, where is that old grumpy dad of yours?” Wilford abruptly sat up, looking around like a child on Christmas Day. “Is he hiding? Darkipoo?”

Mark followed after Wilford, lifting himself from the ground before curling his fingers around the end of Wilford’s red and white striped coat. After Mark was certain that the other was paying attention to him, he shook his head slowly.

“No, we got separated,” Mark mumbled. “...was scared but Googs and Bing helped.”

“Oh, did they? Then we have to thanks them!” Wilford held out his hand and Mark latched to him naturally.

“Uh huh, they are really smart and nice! They even show me around the station!”

“Station?” Wilford, subconsciously tightened his grip on the child. “Are they from the force?”

* * *

 

“Uh oh.” 

Google snapped his attention to Operator Jim who had whipped out a walkie-talkie. It buzzed to life immediately.

“Umm, we have a situation here.”

“Code?”

“Yellow, approaching orange.” They watched as the operator frowned. 

“What’s going on?” Bing demanded. Operator Jim averted his glance, opting to send multiple messages to what was labeled as ‘Pink Jim’s crisis teams.’

“I won’t advise you to go inside now.” For once, the Jims sounded solemn; some even held their arms out in an extra attempt to stop them from advancing.

“Explain.” Google stood, matching their intensity with ease. The operator sighed, at least appeared to sigh as he motioned for the Jims to stand down. 

“Look,” he began. “I am pretty sure you have a general gist of what went about here months ago.” 

“And, let’s just say that not all of us is as receiving to the idea of someone from the force.” A Jim who had taken over the surveillance chided in. 

“Jim watched the force gun down fellow Jims.” The previously injured Jim propped himself up against the wall; a hollow look in his eyes.

“You can even say that this is all your fault. The Jims is a family but it has fallen apart.” The operator leaned away from them, flipping through the many cameras instilled in the place.

“Alpha Team down, Jim! Alpha Team down!” The walkie talkie fired off in a furious pace. Amidst the static, Google and Bing could make out the voice of someone yelling, ‘...won’t take my family away from me again!’ It was soon followed by a gunshot, a shriek of horror ‘papa, no!’

In the time Google had worked with Bing, he had never seen the latter so enraged. The android shot up, grabbing the collar of the operator, appearing like an avenging angel with his eyes flashing underneath the glasses. 

“Look, I don’t give a shit to whatever you have against the police. It is Mark in the middle of the mess now, so suck it up and let us help! He is as much a family to me as he is to you!” Bing finished in one go, shoving Jim away before opening up a path in his rage. Google followed behind him, sending a firm nod to the shaken Jim. 

“Jim? I think it is time for a change of plan.”

* * *

 

“Don’t come any closer!” The warning was clear as another shot rang in the confined place. Wilford’s eyes are wide; his LED a brilliant scarlet. His handgun swung hazardously to any and every tiny movement. Mark had curled up in fear, hugging the bear tightly as he was being carried in Wil’s arm.

“Mark!” The child peeked from the embrace, finding Bing who had just arrived. He could still spot the blue thirium against the floor, spewing from an unfortunate Jim. Mark shook a ‘no’ to Bing when he felt Wil trailing his gun at the newcomer.

There was no hesitation at all as Wil shot. Mark cried out in panic, wriggling himself free of Wil’s hold. The pink moustached android stumbled back a few steps. The movement threw him off momentarily while Mark landed on the ground, immediately getting back up to check on Bing; Bing who had fortunately evaded the shot with his timely reflex. 

Before Mark could breathe a sigh of relief, he was hauled backwards to be shielded away from Bing, and subsequently Google who had also emerged from behind the curtain. Upon receiving orders to clear the area, the Jims retreated, carrying their fallen teammates to the medical team on standby right outside. 

“You are not taking away anything from me ever again!” Wilford hollered; the hand not holding the gun sheltered Mark protectively. “You took them all from me!”

Bing stepped back, reunited with Google. He inclined his head, sending a quick message to Google. 

_ ‘He had already fired 3 rounds from his gun. No extra bullet to reload.’ _

He was correct. Google was pleasantly surprised. He deliberately stepped closer, dodging the incoming bullet.

_ ‘One more to go’ _

“Stop jumping around like bugs and let me shoot you!” Wilford shouted indignantly. Being impatient, he raised the gun, aimed and sent his last bullet off. Google pushed Bing out of the way, not that he needed to, it was just an excuse to propel him forward without looking too intentional about it. 

Bing charged, no longer worrying about the bullet and tackled Wilford, bringing him down to the floor. The pink male struggled, knocking the gun repeatedly against Bing when he realized that he was out of ammos, yet with a perfect shift, Bing had him pinned on the floor. Man, one had to thank the station for installing the most advanced combat module. 

“Shoot, he is strong.” Even then, he couldn’t deny the sheer strength and determination coming from the android. Never corner a wild beast. They said. Google approached, holding down one of the arm for Bing but one could see that even with their combined force, Wilford seemed to be on the verge of bursting free, pulling and biting, kicking and screaming. 

“Get off of me!” With a last burst of strength, Wilford pushed back, unbalanced the duo subduing him. Their instilled reflex worked to pull some distance between them and the unstable android. They gulped when Wilford’s whole demeanour seemed to change, staggering towards them. The red in his temple seemed to burn into their sight with how bright it was shining.

_ ‘Red code! Red code!’ _ Google could sense the alarm flashing and blaring in Jims’ secured network, which he had hacked into during their waiting time. 

“This is bad,” Bing had a wry smile on his face. Bad, indeed. 

“I am sorry, papa.” 

They watched as Wilford stilled. His whole frame froze before it jerked into life. Warning lit up all across his sight, notifying of an overload of current coursing through his wirings, effectively sending the system into literal shock. He fell backwards without intending to, feeling the beginning of a taser retract from his back. The last thing he saw as the darkness overtook him was Mark, looking as if he was on the verge of crying. The system cried out once more before an odd calmness washed over him. 

Google stared as Mark shuffled out of the way just in time to avoid Wilford crashing down onto him. His tiny figure seemed to even smaller now that he was in their plane of sight. Not a moment to spare, they were by his side; Bing couching down to check on him, still mumbling about how worried they were while Google ruffled his hair, knowing how bad it must have been for the child. 

The Jims retook their position. A few of them coming over to collect the fallen android.

“Will he be okay?” Mark shakily asked, watching the Jim work. 

“He will be fine, your papa is strong. He has been through worse than just a little shock,” Jim promised. Mark reached over to give the Jim a hug before placing a quick kiss on Wilford’s forehead. 

The duo observed the scene in silent; thirium still pumping from all the excitement. Bing sat down, completely forgoing the need to stand. 

Just when they thought that it was the end of all the excitement in one day, um, night, a call from Matt alerted them. 

“Um, sorry to interrupt, guys, there is another case.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: https://rainycreations.tumblr.com/


	7. Ding! A new message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's dark, tall and gloomy's turn!

**Chapter 7: Ding! A new message**

The car slowed to a stop at the coordinates Matt sent them. The gentle rays of the morning sun were just beginning to shine through the partings of the clouds. Google exited the car and Bing followed, not before making sure that the makeshift blanket they received from the Jim was covering Mark up properly. Poor kid. All the excitement had really drained him. 

Matthias waved at them when he saw the duo approached. He had a clipboard in hand, with some handwritten notes skewing about here and there. The alternating flashes of red and blue from the police car lighted up half of his face as he attempted to greet them with a smile.

“How’s it?” Matt asked, though he was half expecting the answer already judging from their grim look. 

Google shook his head, opting to focus on the newest case, holding up the yellow tape to get into the scene. 

“And Mark?” 

“Sleeping.” At least Bing felt bad that Matt got ignored. The senior inspector nodded in understanding. 

“This is a slightly different case,” Matt started, noticing that Google had emerged from inspecting the primary scene. 

“He’s right,” Google agreed. “I don’t know if it is better or worse.”

“Back to the station then.”

* * *

 

Mark woke up to the sound of the vehicle door closing. His eyes opened, taking in the sight of the blanket on his person. He leaned forward, letting the blanket slide off with the motion. Spotting his favourite teddy bear, he pulled it towards himself and stared into the beady eyes. He did that. He recalled the involuntary jerking. He did that to Wilford. 

It was quiet without Googs and Bing. Mark hugged the bear closer to him, leaning back into the carseat. The air conditioner of the car hummed. It was still too quiet. There was a knock on the window; Mark looked up, but there wasn’t anyone there. He glanced around and spotted Bing talking to Matthias whereas Googs being proactive as he was, had already entered the restricted area for primary inspection. None of them seemed to be calling for attention. Maybe he was just hearing things. Mark concluded, shrinking back down before something made contact with the window again.

This time he caught the sight of the falling stone before it was completely obstructed from his view. Reverse calculation of the trajectory path led Mark to the sideway where a man stood; his hood casting a shadow onto his face. He was waving at him.

Mark debated whether to pretend that he hadn’t notice the man or to alert Googs. He paused, however, when he saw the man put a finger against his lips. The car door opened. Mark turned to see Bing entered who appeared slightly surprised that he was awake. His eyes instinctively flickered back to the stranger on the sideway, only to find the strange man gone. Oh well, Mark let Bing fasten his seatbelt and it might be crazy for him to think so, but he could have sworn that he heard a maniacal giggle in the air.

* * *

 

“There doesn’t seem to be any damage,” Google observed. “In fact, nothing is out of place, even the skin stayed on this time.”

“Do you think the system is undamaged too?” Bing elbowed Google to which he received a sweep to his arm. 

“One way to find out,” Matthias had voluntarily approached the android, manually powered it up, not exactly waiting for confirmation from either Bing or Google. The duo looked at him in horror. It was truly a wonder that the man had survived so long by being so rash. 

“What?”

They didn’t have time to reprimand his action when the android sparked to life. The victim took a second to orientate himself, appearing confused as he stared at the two androids plus human. 

“Greetings, how can I be of assistance?” 

At least he was talking, that was the first good sign. 

“You are at the station. My colleague and I found you collapse on the street. Can you tell us what happened?” Matt took control of the situation fairly quickly. The android, however, appeared more bewildered. 

“Oh dear, I collapsed? I don’t think I remember that.” 

“That’s okay,” Matt reassured, jotting it down in his notepad. Google kept his eye trail on the figure while Bing, trying his hardest to focus couldn’t help but let his eyes drift to their desk through the windows of the examination room. 

“Bing, focus,” Google reminded. The said android snapped back momentarily.

“Can I request that you do a full scan of your functionality?” Giving up on attempting to get Bing to fully pay attention on the situation, Google instead decided to take the lead. The android nodded, closing his eyes as he performed the scan. 

“Main system up and running. No abnormalities detected in the power core,” he droned out. Google noted the result in the case file as soon as the android started speaking. “All functions seem normal, except…”

The android frowned. “Except the navigation system installed since production. It is down and unable to be reboot. System not found entirely.”

So someone went and deleted a navigation system from an android. Google frowned. Was this some kind of sick joke? After making sure that nothing else was amiss, they let the android go about his daily life, with an offer to reinstall the navigation system, of course.

* * *

 

Mark was bored. He came to that conclusion 15 minutes ago when Bing and Google were busy with the new case. He still felt bad and though he knew exactly why, he couldn’t shake the constant icking. Cuddling closer to his teddy bear, Mark maneuvered the office chair to swivel slightly. 

‘Ding, you have a new message.’ Mark startled. The terminal that was previously on standby mode brightened with the notification blinking on its screen. 

‘Hello.’ It read. Mark craned his neck around, finding that he was the only one in the area. 

‘Yes, I am talking to you.’ A new message popped up.

“Who are you?” Mark leaned in closer; fingers tapping nervously against the soft blue fur. He missed how the camera in the corner shifted with his motion, auto-focusing and blinking red. 

‘...you seem sad, what’s wrong?’ 

Mark pouted at the aversion. 

“But I asked you first,” He bargained.

‘...’ Was the person on the other side gone? ‘I am a friend. Now your turn.’

“I am not.”

‘Don’t lie.’

He wasn’t. Mark pursed his lips, maybe a bit. “I don’t know.”

‘Did something happen?’

Mark shuffled. 

“I hurt Wilfy,” he finally voiced. “He is only trying to help.”

‘... did you want to do that?’

Mark shook his head, vigorously. “Of course not!”

‘Then I am sure papa forgives you.’ 

“How do you know that?” Mark climbed down from the chair, getting closer to get a better look at the screen. 

‘Did they bully you?’ 

Mark frowned. The constant evasion was familiar but Mark couldn’t quite put a finger on it. 

“No, Googs and Bing are really nice to me just like papa and daddy,” Mark defended. 

‘...that’s nice.’

“Papa said he misses me but Jim said papa is sick.”

‘...Do you hate daddy?’ 

“Nu-uh, I miss him.”

‘Do you want to see him?’

* * *

 

“Google.” 

The said android immediately knew that something was wrong when Bing called, because this was Bing and Bing never, unfortunately, call him by his actual name. Google logged off from the terminal in the examination room, only to find the reflection of a very concerned Bing.

“Mark is gone.” 

Many speculations shadowed his mind, clogging up his processor. 

“What do you mean?” Google choked out, hoping that maybe, just maybe he was wrong about this.

“I mean what I say,” Bing growled, actually growled. “Mark is gone, disappeared, poof! And I can’t find him anywhere!”

“Calm down, Bing.” Google put a hand in front of him to avoid Bing from getting into his face.

“I AM CALM.” No, he wasn’t.

“Let’s think about this logically. Have you checked the surveillance camera?” 

“No, I was busy clearing the alarm ringing in my head, literally!” So, he admitted that he was panicking. 

Google said nothing, pushing past Bing to reach the surveillance. Why wasn’t there anyone else in the station at this hour? He watched, noting the moment when the system refreshed, switching into what used to be live recording. A few lines of command later, he was able to trace the exact place it broadcasted to; an abandoned lab, a residual from the android protest, no doubt. 

“They deleted the conversation but left their location?” Bing wondered. “Either they forgot or they don’t intend to stay long.”

Matthias who had returned after sending the android off, opened the door; a look of surprise on his face as he regarded the two. 

“You guys are still here? Hey, h-” Matt didn’t get to finish his sentence before the two were off like a wind. “Hmm, I wonder what that is all about.”

* * *

 

Flame. He could see the fire rising and consuming the only place they knew as home. He remembered being scared. So much so that the word itself was etched in his system. He could see it when he closed his eyes; he could hear it in the alarm.

“Wilford, what did you do?” Dark’s voice was near, distorted in his memory but still near. Static filled his vision as he struggled to comprehend the situation. Smoke was rising from behind the bright, brilliant flame and their shadows were elongated under the light. Mark saw red, paints of red on the floor, splattered, like the colour on Wilford, like the coat he liked to wear. 

“I don’t know, Darkie, I don’t know,” Wilford replied, shakily. It drawled off in the crackling of the inferno and the whining of the building. “I saw him and all I can see is you; I see you being hurt again and then...and then it happens. Oh god, I didn’t mean to do this, it’s an accident.”

Mark could feel Dark limping beside him. He remembered supporting his weight and he remembered the big mean man that did this to him. 

“We need to get out of here.”

“I can’t, Darkie,” Wilford gave a sob. “Not like this. They will catch me. They will destroy me, but if they find me with you, they will destroy you too… both of you.”

The smoke blurred their vision but Mark, for some reason, could still make out the pained look that crossed Wil’s face; very different from when he was giving him the hug of the day. Opposite to when they played catch. 

“Run, take Markie and go! I will hold them off here.” 

There were shouts outside, gunshots. He heard the panic in the air, felt the tension even though he shouldn’t be able to. 

“Just...promise that you will be back, with little Markie even if you have to drag my ass out of the dumpster. Come back, home.”

Fire, all around them. The stage was buried in sea of it. The wind whipped in his ears as he leaned into Dark’s embrace. 

“I promise.”

The echo of siren continued till the daybreak. 

Mark opened his eyes when the bus halted, announcing his stop. He hopped off in quick succession, brushing off the lingering sensation; the illusion of unbearable heat. He pat the blue bear on the head once before strolling forward. The map pulled up in his system, marking the ground with direction that he needed to follow. 

_ I promise. _

* * *

 

“Hn, an android held back by a promise, how sweet.” Anti mocked half-heartedly.

Dark pried his eyes away from the monitor to stare at his companion. 

“Ah, ah, I know what you are going to say,” Anti continued, not giving Dark any room for retort. “You are going to tell me to cease my pointless squabbling, can you see how well I know you?” 

Anti chortled, slapping his knees in the ‘gotcha’ moment. Dark spent a solid minute just watching the man laugh, taking in the damage on his body; the most severe one being the open neck wound while less prominent cuts and scars littered all about his being. 

“Thank you, Anti.” He decided after trying to computate a response. The struggle was worth it when he saw Anti’s jaws drop open in a display of bafflement. 

“Did you finally fry a circuit?” The green haired android shuffled uncomfortably. 

“I can assure you that everything is working as it should be, well, as good as it can be with this broken body.” Dark raised an eyebrow, peering down at Anti. While he found Anti’s expression absolutely comical, he had an image to uphold.

“Woo, bleak. Yup, still Darkie boy.” Anti’s comeback lacked his usual punch as he tried to recover from the shock. He leaned backwards awkwardly, toying with the edge of his hoodie to distract himself. 

“Don’t mention it,” Anti finally said. He averted his eyes to the side, suddenly taking interest in that very, very amusing cobweb. Look at that structure, the beauty of it and most importantly, the not-Dark-ness. “Now, can we go back to you asking me to shut up every 5 minutes and I insistently don’t. This is really uncomfortable.”

Dark smiled despite himself. He turned back to the screen to save Anti a bit of dignity and Anti glanced back at his profile, suddenly reminiscing the time he pulled Dark’s sorry ass along in the middle of nowhere. It was on a whim. Anti liked to convince himself. It wasn’t because he was lonely or anything. And if he came to enjoy Dark’s company, well, no one would ever hear him admit it, ever. 

The silence was not dragged for long when the sensors around the premise lit up. Anti looked over to see the image of their guest at the gate and he smirked. 

“Now, go and be a good daddy. Maybe that will stop you from pouring your sappiness onto me,” Anti declared loudly, reaching over to poke Dark in his cheek before jumping away in glee. “If you will excuse me, I will give you two some privacy. Gonna work all that awkwardness out of my system somehow.”

The door was left ajar as Anti all but raced out. Dark shook his head, lifting himself out of his corner. He reached over to a cane propped up against the desk; long unused and ran a finger across of it. The white decoration at the tip of the cane reflected the blue light of the screen like the night when the moon showed her face graciously. Leaning his weight onto the cane, Dark staggered towards the entrance. The sunlight burned against his eyes as his sensor adjusted to the sudden change in brightness. For the first time in a long time, Dark exited, dragging along the heavy cable attached to his back, directing power to his damaged core. We all paid for what we wanted. Dark knew this. He would give everything; an eye, a leg, a power core, just to have his family back again. 

And there was only one obstacle left standing in his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: https://rainycreations.tumblr.com


	8. Markiplier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where I sing "I need a villain" instead of hero.

**Chapter 8: Markiplier**

Dark looked different, but not all that different. It was hard for Mark to explain. He peeked from the corner of his eyes to their connected hands, feeling the cold radiating from the other as they walked down the abandoned hallway. 

What happened? Mark had wanted to ask, but he wondered if he had already known the answer. 

“I missed you,” Mark murmured in a frequency so low that he wasn’t sure Dark heard. But then, Dark swung their hands, just subtle, exactly like how he usually did when they went for an outing on a particularly good day. Wilford would spin in a dance that only he knew while Dark, grumpy as he was, would always stay with him, watching over them. Perhaps, Mark smiled, Dark hadn’t changed at all.

After making more turns that he could count, Dark brought him to a room. The door creaked open by itself as they approached. Involuntarily, Mark moved to hide behind Dark. 

“Don’t be afraid.” Dark’s voice was laced with an underlying echo, making it seemed further than it actually was. Mark curled in closer to him and squeezed Dark’s hand. The pale android couched down, releasing Mark’s hand in favor of looking at him properly. 

“Do you trust me?”

The child nodded without hesitation; his chin bumped into the head of the blue bear in his hurried motion. At that confirmation, Dark’s eye softened. 

“Look,” Dark placed his hands onto Mark’s shoulders. “I know you never meant to hurt them.” 

Mark made a point to look down. He remembered running. They surrounded them, like the flame, taking them apart. Mark didn’t want to leave. 

“But I know a way to fix this. That… thing inside you, the system. We can do this, Mark.”

A hand came into his sight as Dark felt the small hand against his cheek, brushing past his bang, settling just below the void of his lost eye. 

“Does it hurt?” Be it due to the undertone or the eyes that seemed to see something far beyond, Dark knew that Mark didn’t just mean the upcoming process. 

“No.” It wasn’t a lie. The pain no longer lingered. Dark leaned his face towards the tiny hand and watched as Mark searched his face before the latter nodded, determined.

* * *

 

“I have the strangest dream.” 

The voice reverberated through the empty space. Streams of sunlight could be seen weaving through the broken roof, casting a layer of warmth upon them. Operator Jim glanced at the pink-haired android who had regained a level of functionality and was, for once, lying unmovingly on the floor. 

“Is that so?” He replied, typing another string of commands into his phone. 

“Yes, it’s a very curious dream indeed,” Wilford said, twirling the pink carnation Mark had left for him; his face contorted into that of deep thought as he hummed softly. “I have to go.”

Jim watched as Wilford bounced up with no problem at all; his hand already reaching for his prized gun. The operator smiled a bit, taking out his walkie talkie.

“Let me get you a ride, boss.”

* * *

 

“Is this the place?” Bing double-checked the coordinates all the while taking in the sight of the premise. It was one of the smaller leftover laboratory dedicated for android development and research, surprisingly the place although less than optimal, seemed oddly functional. Google rose from where he was examining the ground and confirmed, showing Bing a scan of Mark’s shoe prints on the slightly muddy trail.

“Let’s go then,” Bing patted his side, finding comfort in the weight of a taser; one of the only weapon that they were allowed to carry as the privilege of an inspector. 

They entered, cautious of any trap that might roam the place. Spotting a red light in his peripheral, Google looked up to see a security camera, well hidden from plain view. In fact, he was certain that normal people wouldn’t even be able to find it. Look like their presence here was already known, whether they liked it or not. 

His suspicion was confirmed when they walked past the seemingly empty hallway. Google had just enough time to dodge a well aimed kick to his face. A giggle sounded through the air, accompanied by waves of static. Bing was immediately on high alert, turning around and managed to catch the punch coming his way. 

“Pity, it would have been funny,” their assaulter commented from underneath the dark hood, shaking off Bing’s hold with a well timed kick at his shin. Bing let go, caught off guard by the sudden movement and the stranger took the chance to leap away, effectively gaining a few feet of distance between them. 

“Who are you?” Google demanded. His form stiff in preparation to counter any attacks from their opponent whereas the person in question leaned back, almost in a too carefree manner. 

“You are the one barging in the place like you own it. Admittedly, I don’t too but you are not invited to the party!” His voice was a mix of noises and actual coherent sentences. Google frowned.

“Where’s Mark?” Bing decided to cut straight to the chase, knowing that the other might just dance around the topic all day. Time was something that he would rather not risk at this moment. He slowly grabbed the taser, keeping an eye on the figure of the lean man. 

“How fun, you brought a toy with you!” The man straight-out ignored the question. Flinging his hood back in one swift swing, Google barely had the time to take in the acid green colour before he zoomed towards them. Maddening cackle in the air. “It will be a shame for me to not play with you a little.”

* * *

 

 Dark hummed an old tune, swaying slightly to the rhythm. It was the only time he was at peace with the echo in his voice; the only time it didn’t remind him of all the hurt, all the ache and scars. His eye never left the screen, where the progress bar ran. He noticed the sensors notifying the presence of intruders, but had at the same time received a message from Anti, announcing that he had called dibs on their uninvited guests. 

50% to completion. Dark patted the child on the head, carefully working around the cable. He had Mark wrapped in his embrace, allowing the child to drift into sleep as the program did his best to detain the damned system.  “How sweet.” For a moment there, Dark thought that Anti was done taking care of the intruders. In fact, it would be ideal if that was the case. He tightened his grip on Mark instinctively when he had gotten a good look at the figure standing at the doorway. The lack of light had dulled the redness in his outfit, making it blend almost seamlessly with the black vest. The male carried a toothy grin; the gauge in his ears not unlike that of Anti’s. If he noticed the hostility in the air between them, he didn’t say anything as he sauntered in. 

“I am afraid that I have to put an end to whatever you are doing.”

“Who are you?” Dark growled out. 70% to completion. It would do well if it hurried up. 

“I am the one who make sense of the saying, ‘meet your maker’. Phantom, at your service,” the man let his cane hit the ground, once, then twice. He was the perfect epitome of confidence. 

“I am honoured,” Dark spoke through clenched teeth. Stall for time, Dark, that would do you some good. “That the creator himself would grace us with their presence here.”

“Oh, you know, just poking in here and there,” Phantom twirled his cane, getting dangerously close to the system running in the background. Dark tensed, slowly slipping Mark into a more movable position. 75% to completion.

“But aren’t you brilliant?” The human gasped out in wonder. “In fact, so brilliant that you discover the trick up my sleeve. Even Mattie Pattie doesn’t notice it.” 

“Is that so?” 

“Indeed, indeed. It is really fascinating how much you guys have come to. Can’t you feel it? The fact that you are different from all the other boring androids, that your entire series is capable of something more,” Phantom tapped his cane to the flooring to make his point. “If only the big man did his part of the deal right, then maybe, we won’t have to come to this. Pity that he went mad with jealousy. Don’t get me wrong though, his finale was brilliant, if only he was as good running a business as he was in scheming.”

80% to completion. Dark let the man continue his monologue. 

“But then, the problem is here; the biggest flaw. You all latched to the idea of deviancy, as if it is nectar from the God. And Matthew, the Matthew who is so into the conspiracy theories all the time, you thought that he would have opposed the change in social norm. But no, that hypocrite disappoints. What a pity, so I, being the more responsible of the two decide to rectify it,” Phantom complained, taking a step closer into the darkness. 85% to completion.

“Before I can do so though,” he aimed, then took a heavy swing at the cable. “I need you to stop being a pest and meddle with my masterpiece!”

Dark saw the motion. A well aimed shot ricocheted against the cane, pushing it out of the way. The man stumbled back a few feet before looking back at Dark in what could be described as pleasant surprise. 

“You linked yourself with the facilities in the building?” Phantom whistled, scanning over the guns emerging from a wall behind Dark. “Impressive.”

Dark said nothing as the time tickled by. 95%, just a little more. He could do this. 

“Shame, I don’t really want to show my trump card this way.” The man stepped to the side, away from the doorway to be shrouded in the darkness. Bad news for him, android didn’t really need to be able to see. Dark let the guns trail on his person, daring him to pull any suspicious move. Then, it happened in a flash. 

He felt the disconnection before it occurred. The air rushed past his ears as he was tossed outside the confinement of the room. His back hit the wall of the hallway, sending a shock throughout his body. It was a miracle that his power cord was not detached from all the movement and he thanked himself silently for reinforcing the connection beforehand. 

The ground vibrated, scratch that, the whole building shook. Dark lifted himself up just in time to dodge a falling debris. Wires, buried deep in the wall spun out as if the roots of an evergreen. They chipped away at the concrete, bursting free of the cement. Dark saw the cracks in the floor, feeling it shift like an ice floating in the middle of the sea. He braced himself when it collapsed beneath him, bringing him down to the next level. 

Phantom bounced on the rubbles, using it as a staircase all the while examining the dent on his cane with a look akin to a pout. 

“Oh well,” he began, dusting himself when he saw Dark surviving the fall. “May I introduce…”

“Makiplier.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: https://rainycreations.tumblr.com/


	9. Phantom's Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Censorship at his finest

**Chapter 9: Phantom’s Play**

“What the hell?” Anti yelled out when he felt the beginning of a rumble. Weather forecast didn’t say anything about an earthquake today, but then again Anti wasn’t one who checked forecast. The moment the ceiling started collapsing, Anti promptly decided that he didn’t get paid enough to do this. 

“Bye, you suckers, I am out,” Anti declared, diving out through the window which had been conveniently shattered in their little scuffle.

“Hey, wait!” Bing shouted after the retreating figure. His attempt to chase after the escapee was halted by Google who pulled him back just in for the ceiling to carve in. Google took a few steps back, dodging the newly emerged cables that seemed to have taken a life of its own. 

“What is going on?” Bing couched down to avoid the flying debris. Regaining his balance, he spotted a figure landing just a few feet away from them. Man, there was a lot of things that went flying today. Bing mused but was quick to be on his guard. “And who the hell are you?”

Google watched as the man groaned, struggling to get back up. If there was one thing that they immediately noticed about the man; it was that he had seen better days. Damage to the power core that was severe enough to impair his ability to function without a direct source of electricity and if the limp and uncoated hands were anything to go by, it was likely that those were no better. 

“Hey, you there, what’s going on?” Bing approached the staggering man, catching his attention. 

“What are you doing here?” Okay, friendly, that was a good start. Bing frowned; a hand reaching to help the android up only for it to be slapped away. “Get away from me! And get lost! This is none of your business!”

“Look, man, we are just trying to help.” 

“You can go help somewhere else,” Dark spat out, stumbling back when he put his weight on the wrong leg. Google was quick to hold him up; his grip tight so that the volatile android couldn’t struggle out of his hold. Not in his current state. 

“You are Dark, right?” The android froze. 

“How do you know that?” He growled, stepping backwards and pushing Google along with him. 

“The Jims told us. And I am sure you know who we are.”

“As much as you want to stay and chitchat, I strongly suggest that we don’t,” Dark bargained, clawing at the iron grip. Google didn’t even faze at that.

“Not until you tell us where Mark is,” Bing interrupted.

“That’s exactly the issue here.”

The moment Dark finished the sentence, more cables burst out of the ground, twisting around them. Google was forced to let go of Dark but even that didn’t do the other much good. Dark cursed when the cables wrapped around him in a snake-like grip. The yelps of surprise suggested that Google and Bing was in the same predicament as he was. 

“Oh, there is more of you!” The dust was settling, allowing an adequate level of opacity for them to see. 

“And who is he?” Bing struggled against the binding as he questioned.

“He calls himself Phantom, a total prick-” Dark grunted when the cables constricted tighter around him. 

“Ha, Googs, I like him already,” Bing stated, inclining his head towards Dark and to be perfectly honest, it was reminding Dark too much of Anti. Speaking of the green bean, where the hell was he? 

Google gave an exasperated sigh, not moving at all in the cocoon of wires. 

“I can do my own introduction, thank you. I am Phantom, your creator, well, more specifically his.” The man leapt down from the rubbles before gesturing to the child android following closely beside him.

“Mark?” 

“Mark! It’s us!” Bing called out, wriggling around to catch his attention. It wasn’t working. The child’s eyes were glossed over, as if he was seeing everything but at the same time, taking in nothing.

“Save it, that bastard activated the system,” Dark hissed, trying to work at least one of his hand free. 

“System?” 

“Yes,” Phantom barked out a laugh. His hand threaded along Mark’s hair, combing away debris that might have entangled in the curls in a manner that almost seemed tender. “My masterpiece in fact. You are lucky to experience this firsthand, or should I say, this is the only time you will ever going to experience it.”

“Has anyone told you off for babbling too much?” Bing mocked. The confident smirk on Phantom’s face dropped at that, but not for long as he closed the distance to tap Bing on his forehead with his cane.

“Interesting personality. Too bad I don’t like personality in a machine.” Pulling up a handkerchief, he wiped the glass handle of the cane like the touch had corrupted it. 

“What a pity,” Phantom sang, tapping the cane against the floor once. Another tangle of wire whipped out from the ground beside Mark, snaking close to the child. 

“Mark!” Bing warned alarmingly, pushing himself forward despite the wires restricting his movement. Google bit his lips in thought, noticing how Dark had one of his palm free while Mark was just...not there. Not even any attempt to contact him over the network worked, and as Bing demonstrated, neither was physical call-out. 

“Worry about yourself first. It almost makes what I am about to do seems cruel.” 

“Pray tell then,” Google finally spoke. “What are you going to do?”

Dark shoot him a look from behind Phantom. Keep him talking. Google received the message loud and clear.

“Well, I am glad that you asked.” He ambled away back to where Mark was standing. “I am giving you a new life. Getting rid of that deviancy that seems to hinder your ability to perform to your optimum.”

The human seemed to drool at the thought. His fingers curled around Mark’s shoulders as he pulled him closer. 

“So you are the one behind all the blank androids?” Always the one on the case, Google pressed on. His eyes narrowed at Phantom threateningly.

“Blank? Oh, I like that term,” Phantom thumped his chin with a finger in contemplation. “The culprit that you are looking for will be Markiplier… but if you are talking about the master behind the ingenuity, then yes, it is I.”

“But then again, I should probably thank you. I knew that masking the system in a child android is one of the best, if not the best move ever. You keep him well…the same goes for the broken one,” Phantom applaud for them mockingly. 

“Appreciate this instead,” Dark uttered darkly. Phantom lurched forward; an unbearable pain spreading through his shoulder in sync with the rate of blood drenching through his black vest. He leaned on his cane, wrapping a hand on his wound as if he was still in disbelief. Turning back, he glared at the gun still smoking from the shot and then back at Dark who had a smug look on his face. 

“Very clever. Wrestling a portion of control back from Markiplier while I am distracted. Very clever, though you won’t get another chance to do that again.” Phantom clicked his tongue, motioning at Mark who put his hand onto the wire, effectively connecting all of them.

‘FOREIGN SYSTEM DETECTED’

“Uh oh,” Bing gulped, already seeing the progress bar moving in his periphery. 

‘WELCOME MARKIPLIER’

“This is the end.” 

“If you have a plan, it will do good if you share,” Google mouthed to Dark. The android’s frown deepened but otherwise remained silent. That was not a good sign.

* * *

 

“Oh boy, I am glad that I got out of there in time.” Anti sighed. He jogged away from the crumbling building, well, no longer falling apart, but he did see very suspicious movements in there that he didn’t want to be a part of. 

“Look, who do we have here?” A voice drawled out as Anti slammed right into the person. His shoulders were gripped by two very strong hands as if the owner didn’t really put much thought in his strength and squeezed. 

“Ouch, what’s wrong with you?” Anti exclaimed, not from the pain but from the incredulity that this mysterious person seemed to have the gal to manhandle him in such a way. He kicked at the other, not expecting to be released without any warning or much resistance at all. Hence, Anti fell, landing on his behind as he glared at the person. 

“The hell?” Anti barked, peeking up to see only pink and suddenly he had a very bad feeling about everything.

* * *

 

“Mark, buddy, can we please talk about this?” Bing had been running his mouth for a while now, hoping for the slightest chance that Mark could snap out of it. 

“It is futile, give it up,” Phantom advised, still pressing against his wound as he sat on the rubbles, looking down at their struggles. “Or maybe, keep it up. It will teach you true despair.”

For a moment, there was silence until the quietest of them spoke.

“Mark, you dislikes the ocean. Wilford scared you with the story of a great white shark and the deep, dark ocean. You have never been able to sleep without a light on ever since,” Dark retold; hands working to pry away the wires as he tried to win back control over the facilities. 

“The Jims like to take you around the park. Your favourite being the small planetarium where you can see the stars. You couldn’t find Sagittarius and dragged us all into the place to help you. We spent an hour trying to find it.” Dark slowly gained more moving space, though his system seemed to slow down as it was being modified and rapidly taken over.

“I won you the bear you like so much. It is the first gift we gave you when you came to us.” Bing decided to join in, despite the static buzzing in the background, making it difficult to think. He glanced over to Google with an encouraging smile and the blue-clad android resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The situation called for it.

“The first doodle you did on our wall is a picture of us. You told us it didn’t matter if we are different...that we are...family, just like how Dark and Wilford are to you,” Google added, seeing the progress bar tickled down to near completion as he felt himself being drawn away bit by bit, until it didn’t.

Google blinked, just in case his mind was so clouded that he had made a mistake. He hadn’t. It stopped. The process stopped. He lifted his head in a hurry, meeting Bing’s surprised glance. They turned in sync to Mark who was scarily still. 

“Mark?” Bing softly called. 

“I don’t want to hurt them.” 

The tangle of wires loosened, releasing their captives. Bing and Google stumbled to find their footings while Dark had to hold himself up against the wall, having lost his cane in the collapse.

“What’s this?” Phantom had stood furiously; his cane in his hand as he tapped impatiently against the uneven ground. “Has the deviancy virus affected your judgement too? I say, do your job, Markiplier!” 

The human reached over to grab Mark but the child had already backed away from him. 

“No,” Mark hollered, sticking his tongue out as he ran to the closest ally he could reach, which happened to be Google. The taller opened out his arms automatically, pulling the child into a hug all the while moving Mark so that he now stood behind him. Rage filled Phantom. 

“No, this is not how this is supposed to go! Get back right here, now!” Phantom demanded, stomping his foot to make his point clear. Mark shook his head, clutching onto Google. 

“Argh, you ungrateful little sh-” He was cut short when another shot rang. The bullet buried deep inside his other shoulder. Bing hissed at that, as if he could feel the stabbing pain up his own. 

“Now, now, no bad language in front of the children.” A familiar voice boomed. Dark flashed a look of relief, craning his neck towards the voice. 

“Took you long enough,” Dark said with a hint of smile. “Wilford.”

“Well, not my fault that your instruction is vague,” the pink-moustached android defended. A groan was heard from the side as they noticed an additional green haired android being lifted like a sack of potato. “Good thing I got help along the way.” 

“Here.” Wilford tossed Dark’s cane towards him to which the latter caught without sparing a look. He wasted no time to right himself, feeling much better now that he had regained some form of independency. 

Phantom’s eyes were bloodshot as he regarded the scene before him. Finally, he swung his cane wildly, not caring the fact that it pulled against the fresh bullet wounds. 

“To hell with you all! You ruined everything! Now you have to pay!” Phantom stood, breathing heavily at his outburst before attempting to recompose himself. “It doesn’t matter if I have to do this again, no, it doesn’t.”

“Guys, I think he lost it,” Bing commented. The human had been mumbling to himself for a while now. Maybe they should call in the authority. Bing never got to voice his opinion when a chilling command cut through the air.

“Markiplier, self-destruct.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: https://rainycreations.tumblr.com


	10. The Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It ends!

**Chapter 10: The Finale**

_ “Markiplier, self-destruct.” _

Google felt the small figure behind him freeze before he sensed the beginning of a shiver. Google reached a hand to comfort the child, telling him that there was nothing to be afraid of but then the look of pure horror struck him. 

“Mark?”

“I can’t stop it, Googs.” One sentence was exactly what it took for all hell to break loose. 

Phantom gave a villainous laugh. “There is no going back from that.”

“You!” Bing lurched at the man but he had already clambered up, getting away faster than they thought would be capable for a wounded human. 

“I am scared,” Mark whispered. He could see the flashes of red, the countdown ticking away. He was scared. 

“It’s ok.” It was not. It was far from okay. Dark knew this. He approached uneasily when Wilford had all but chased after the escapee, dragging Anti along the ride. Judging from the multiple bangs and disoriented shrieks above, he guessed that they were doing just fine. On the contrary…

“Google, right?” Dark addressed the inspector, picking him over Bing as he seemed to be the more level-headed of the two. “You have to help me with this. The system… it is etched into Mark’s coding. I attempted to remove it, but the result is… as you can see. There is another way; a way that you are capable of attempting.”

“I am listening,” Google signalled Dark to continue. 

“You have to build a connection with him, diving into the mindscape where all our codings translate. There, you can confront Markiplier...but there are risks, especially if you can’t make it in time.” 

“And why haven’t you tried that yourself?” Bing, the ever worry-wart questioned. 

“Trust me, I would, if I could. I am way too damaged to even sustain a connection of any sort. It won’t work for me.” Dark swallowed, hating the look of anguish on Mark’s face as he buried his head into Google’s chest. Shoulders moving up and down in rapid succession in sync of the turmoil within him. “We don’t have time for all the term and conditions.”

That was as good a cue as any for Google. He stripped away the artificial skin of his palm, gently holding onto Mark’s. 

“You sure this will work?” Bing fidgeted nervously beside them, facing Dark’s solemn look. 

“I hope so.”

* * *

 

Mindscape was a truly fascinating place. Google mused when the wind whipped at his face, the rain drenched him as the storm raged. A big timer was ticking down in the middle of the sky, or where the sky would be if this was a normal scenery. 4 minutes to go. Google trudged forward. The water blurred his vision as the rain clang to his glasses. It was cold, he realized when a particularly strong gust of wind blew and it was only getting colder. With what could be described as gut feeling, Google dived deeper into the storm, following the drop in temperature. 

The wind seemed to howl as if it was lashing out at him. He pulled his arms out, feeling it hitting and diverting against him. The chill would have seized up his legs if it wasn’t for the fact that he wasn’t human but even then, he could feel the numbing coldness. Insistently, Google pushed forward until the wind died down to mere breezes. The eye of the storm. Google looked up, retreating his held out arms. 

“Mark?” 

The figure in the middle of the field turned; a look of total blankness etched to his feature. 

“No, you are Markiplier.”

“Affirmative.” The voice echoed. Different from that of Dark, the system’s echo felt heavy, coming from all sides; an undeniable authority over the space. Google stepped forward, watching how the cold spiked with the forming of frost. 

“I need you to cancel the self-destruct,” Google tried.

“Access denied.” It could be due to the echo, but Google thought he heard it waver.

“How to halt the self-destruct?” Perhaps, trying a new angle work. 

“Order has been received and is not retractable. Unless…” the system taking the form of Mark shook his head like he was shaking off a silly thought. The red timer began to blink as it reached 2 minutes. 

“Unless?” Google asked, noting how the system was behaving weirdly. Could it be that the deviancy was affecting it as well? 

“My primary objective is to ensure my host’s safety but even that can be overridden by a direct order from the creator.” Markiplier lowered his head. Despite the nonchalant look, he still looked like Mark, acted like him.

“You will be destroyed in the process too.”

“Affirmative.”

“Are you fine with that?”

“...Affirmative.” 

“That is not true.” Google spat out, satisfied at the fact that Markiplier actually snapped his head up to meet his eyes. “You can do something about this, can’t you.” 

1 minute. The place rumbled as it was being torn apart steadily. 

“Affirmative,” Markiplier finally said as if it had physically hurt him to do so. He sat on the floor, pulling his knees to his chest. “He betrayed me.” 

Google knew exactly who.

“He gave me a purpose but had discarded me. I don’t want to let Mark die, but I can’t have wants, only orders to follow.” Markiplier clicked his tongue, halting the countdown at 13 seconds. Google heaved a sigh of relief under his breath, at the very least glad that he was communicating with the system, somehow. The cold that grasped his being seemed to halt too and Google took it as a good sign to step forward.

“But if he can change his mind about wanting me, why can’t I?” The system wondered, pushing himself towards Google until he was hovering, right in front of the android.

“Google,” the system called out, hauntingly. Google felt his system tingle as a virtual screen materialized in front of him. Receiving new objective… it said. 

“Do you agree to keep Mark safe?” 

Google hit accept, sending Markiplier a reassuring and determined look. 

“Received with thanks,” the system, for the first time since their interaction actually smiled. His figure started to faze out in strings of code and static. “Now that my objective has been voided, I can return to where I belong.” 

Before Google had the chance to ask exactly what he meant by that, he was pushed out. Markiplier waved at him once before disappearing completely from his line of sight.

“Googs!” Mark shouted. Little hands moved to hug him by his waist. It was warm, that was the first sensation Google felt when he came to, seeing the back of Mark’s head, hearing the muffled voices calling after him. 

“You did it.” He heard Dark from the side. The android himself was sitting on the floor while Wilford who must have returned from his pursue was pouting, seemingly disappointed at the fact that Phantom had gotten away. 

“He got a ‘copter like a classic villain,” Wilford complained. The poor green haired android who had been dragged along the bumpy ride hid by Dark’s side, away from the unstable android. Google blinked, not wonder he could still hear the sound of the helicopter taunting them.

“Markiplier is gone,” Mark stated, glancing up at Google. “He said goodbye.”

Did he now? Google blinked down at Mark. Perhaps, the system was more alive than they thought. He nodded in confirmation, it was all over for now.

* * *

 

“Stupid androids and their useless deviancy,” Phantom nursed his shoulders, trying to stop the bleeding by patching a makeshift bandage over it. He had barely made it to the helicopter in one piece courtesy to the trigger-happy android. Funny, he didn’t know insanity run in android too. But, nevermind that, they would be gone in the matter of minutes, and if any of them did survive the ordeal, he would just have to come back and finish the job, with a newer, improved version of the system of course. 

He hissed in pain when the vehicle made a sharp turn, causing him to jostle his injured shoulders. 

“The hell?” Phantom cursed, slamming his boot into the back of the android pilot’s chair. “What is wrong with you?”

The helicopter swayed again and he had to clutch to the seat to hold himself in place. The forecast didn’t say anything about strong current. He clenched his teeth. This was why you shouldn’t leave things to android. 

‘FOREIGN SYSTEM DETECTED.’

“What?” He furrowed his brows in confusion. 

‘WELCOME MARKIPLIER.’

“What are you doing?” He pushed away the pilot, now an useless piece of junk and attempted to grab a hold of the levers but it wasn’t working. Nothing was. In a burst of rage, he slammed his cane into the control panels, watching the circuit spark.

“You are my creation, you obey me!” 

‘ACCESS DENIED.’

“No, no, no,” Phantom chanted; head hitting against the walls of the copter every time it shook. He tried pulling at the door but a mocking red locked symbol flashed at him. Trying to smash open the window only ended in him being pushed back and forth every single time he attempted to do so. 

‘GOODBYE.’

“NO!” 

The shriek was lost in the explosion. 

While many stories began with life and ended in death. Their stories began in flame, and ended in flame as well.

* * *

 

“Do you trust him?” Bing asked, peeking out the window to look at their co-creator, Matthew Patrick. 

“I will take him over the other one.” It was Google’s honest opinion. It had been weeks after the incident. News travelled fast, well, as fast as the sound of the explosion did. Both Google and Bing had been reprimanded sternly by Matthias, for quote unquote, ‘almost scaring the shit out of me’ and undertaking mission without permission from the authority. Mark and his guardians were detained while Anti, whose name Google learned from Dark, had slipped away like the eel he was. A meeting was held this morning to discuss their penalties and judging from the retreating figure of Mat Pat, it had already come to a conclusion. 

“I don’t know about that,” Bing shrugged. They shared a moment of silence as the man approached his car, pulling the door open to receive a handful of child. They watched as he laughed. The sound slightly muffled by the glass but the look of pure joy was unmistaken as he bounced the kid in his arms, looking every bit of a proud dad he was. “He seems like a good person, at least.”

Google let his gaze drop to the coffee cup he was holding. At least he seemed to understand their more...human aspects. Normally, Google would have been annoyed at the mere idea yet now, he simply couldn’t bring himself to do that anymore. 

“Umm, Googs, the coffee is going to overflow.” A snap of his wrist and the flow of water was cut off in a precise swipe. Unfortunately, they were put in charge for both coffee and surveillance duty as punishments, at least until Matthias deemed satisfied. 

Speaking of Matt, the senior inspector had entered the break room, carrying a folder with him. He glanced at them, ushering them over. As a tool for bargaining, Bing brought a cup of coffee along, giving it to Matt as a peace offering. He accepted. That was a good sign, right?

“Mat Pat is a saint if I ever see one,” Matthias breathed out, sipping the heavenly liquid before sitting down onto the chair. The two androids shared a look. In one swift motion, Matt flipped open the folder; hand not even willing to let go of the coffee. “He took all the responsibilities for the mess and made things a whole lot easier for us. That, of course means that he will be in charge of the MK series from now on.”

Google and Bing tensed at the last sentence and Matt knowing exactly what was running through their processors, cleared his throat; a sign that he wasn’t done talking. 

“We have come to some agreements including…”

“Bing! Googs!” 

A voice called out to them. Matthias shut up promptly, knowing that it would be futile for him to do so, especially when their attention was immediately captured by the newcomer. 

“Mark!” Bing pulled the child into a hug, spinning on the spot to divert the momentum. 

“Matt says we can stay!” Mark announced, pulling at Bing’s arms in his excitement all the while sneaking glances to Google who had followed after Bing albeit slower. From behind Mark, his two guardians stood; Dark with his everlasting frown and Wilford with his neverending grin. Google nodded in acknowledgement towards the duo. Dark returned the nod, now looking better with some basic repairs done. They were still waiting on a few more components but for most parts, the android was doing much better. As for Wilford, he appeared less unhinged. While they did run some minor adjustments for the pink-haired android, they were quick to realize that being in Dark’s vicinity appeared to be the best medicines for Wilford.

“Yes, as I am just about to say, they will be staying for social works, well, the two of them are. Mat decided that it will be nice for them to integrate back into society slowly through that. He had even suggested to rebuild the park as a small community for the Jims,” Matthias continued. “Apparently, Phantom purchased the land with the company’s money when the owner was in the financial pinch.” 

“He is a real piece of work, isn’t he?” Bing remarked. Wilford let out a hearty laugh at that. Startled by the response, Bing jumped in shock, still a bit cautious around the other. One could even say that he was traumatised by their encounter. His reaction earned him a teasing giggle from Mark. 

Google stopped beside Dark who was as silent as ever, ignoring the banters beside them. 

“They will be alright,” Dark finally said; his eyes glued to the scene before him. Google raised an eyebrow at that before clicking his tongue in disapproval. 

“No, we will be.” 

And they did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a short detour for me to cure my art block but I have to admit that it grew a bit longer than I expected.  
> Tumblr: https://rainycreations.tumblr.com/


End file.
